In just a few hours, at 9:00 p.m. ET, President Obama will stand before Congress to give the State of the Union Address. He'll talk about where we are as a nation, and he'll lay out a blueprint for an America built to last.

For weeks, we've been working to this point.

The President has been brainstorming with the speechwriters and huddling with the policy team. He's come up with new ideas, rewritten language, and reordered pages. For President Obama, this isn't simply an editing exercise. He's invested in creating the State of the Union because he sees it as his opportunity to take his vision for the country to the American people directly.

Want to know what that looks like?

We made a behind-the-scenes video to show you what went into this year's State of the Union. Check it out, and stay tuned to watch the speech with us at 9:00 p.m. ET.

To make sure you get the most out of the State of the Union, we've put together an enhanced version of the speech. As the President outlines his plans for 2012, you'll see key facts and figures. We'll present charts and infographics so that everyone can get a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges ahead of us.

We hope you'll join us after the speech as well -- when a group of policy experts and senior White House staff will sit down to discuss the President's remarks online and answer your questions.

The best place to learn more about the State of the Union is at WhiteHouse.gov. Dig in and watch the speech with us:

http://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sotu

Moving forward, the President will do everything he can to turn this blueprint into reality -- and you can help. We need a vigorous debate about these ideas. So lift up your voice, share your views, and spread the word.

Thanks,

David Plouffe
Senior Advisor to the President

Related:
Watch the enhanced version of the 2012 State of the Union Address
Read President Obama’s Blueprint for an America that is built to last
Take a deep dive into the data behind the President’s plan
Video: Go behind the scenes as the President prepared his speech
Photo Gallery: Scenes from the State of the Union
Interactive Feature: Who Joined the First Lady for the Speech?
Read the full transcript of President Obama's 2012 State of the Union Address
 

 

Once again, we will be streaming an enhanced version of the speech that features graphics, data and stats that highlight the issues the President is discussing on Whitehouse.gov/sotu. We will also live stream that broadcast through the White House Live App on Facebook, YouTube and our new Google+ page.

Starting immediately after the speech and continuing through the rest of the week, senior White House officials will hear from you about the state of our union. President Obama is committed to creating a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration using social media and other online resources to engage citizens across America on your highest priorities.

Immediately following the speech, we’ll be streaming an online panel live from the White House. The panel of senior advisors -- Mark Zuckerman, White House Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council; Roberto Rodriguez, Special Assistant to the President for Education Policy; Brian Deese, Deputy Director National Economic Council; Ben Rhodes, Deputy NSA for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting and Jen Palmieri, Deputy White House Communications Director – will be answering questions about the President’s address submitted by citizens via twitter (#WHChat & #SOTU), Google+, Facebook and the in-person audience of tweetup participants.

Administration officials will spend Wednesday taking questions on the State of the Union in a day-long Office Hours marathon, an online question and answer session through Twitter. Josh Earnest, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary, will be available throughout the day, and Mark Zuckerman, White House Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council will be taking questions at 1 pm EST. Dan Pfeiffer, the White House Communications Director, will also participate.

Thursday’s Office Hours will feature community-focused discussions with policy advisors and experts and Friday will be directed towards specific issues. 

Review the full schedule of events below to learn how you can participate. We hope you will join us at some point next week.

Here's how Office Hours work:

• Ask your question on Twitter with the hashtag #WHChat
• Administration officials respond to your questions in real-time via Twitter
• Follow the Q&A through the @WHLive Twitter account
• If you miss the live session, the full Q&A will be posted on WhiteHouse.gov and Storify.com/WhiteHouse

 Office Hours Schedule for Thursday January 26 (times listed are EST)

• 10:00 a.m. Veterans: Matt Flavin, White House Director of Veterans and Wounded Warrior Policy
• 11:00 a.m. LGBT: Miriam Vogel, White House Senior Policy Advisor and Gautam Raghavan, White House Associate Director for Public Engagement
• 12:00 p.m. Women: Racquel Russell, Special Assistant to the President for Mobility and Opportunity and Avra Siegel, White House Deputy Executive Director for the Council on Women and Girls
• 1:00 p.m. Seniors: Jeanne Lambrew, Deputy Assistant to the President for Health Policy and Nick Papas, Assistant Press Secretary
• 2:00 p.m. Latinos: Felicia Escobar, White House Senior Policy Advisor, Julie Rodriguez, White House Associate Director of Public Engagement and Luis Miranda, White House Director of Hispanic Media
• 3:00 p.m. Native American Issues: Kimberly Teehee, Senior Policy Advisor for Native American Affairs
• 4:00 p.m. Small Business Owners: Christine Koronides, Senior Advisor for Economic Policy, National Economic Council
• 5:00 p.m. African Americans: Danielle Gray, Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy
• 6:00 p.m. Asian American Pacific Islanders: Chris Lu, Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary

Office Hours Schedule for Friday January 27 (times listed are EST)

• 9:00 a.m. Disability Issues: Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy
• 10:00 a.m. Rural Issues: Doug McKalip, Senior Policy Advisor for Rural Affairs
• 11:00 a.m. Foreign Policy: Ben Rhodes, Deputy NSA for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting
• 12:00 p.m. Education: Zakiya Smith, Senior Policy Advisor for Education, Steve Robinson, Special Assistant at the Domestic Policy Council, and Mary Wall, Policy Assistant at the Domestic Policy Council
• 1:00 p.m. Health: Jeanne Lambrew, Deputy Assistant to the President for Health Policy and Nick Papas, Assistant Press Secretary
• 2:00 p.m. Energy: Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy & Climate Change and Dan Utech, Deputy Director for Energy Policy
• 3:00 p.m. Consumer Protections: Brian Deese, Deputy Director National Economic Council
• 4:00 pm. The Economy: Jason Furman, Principal Deputy Director National Economic Council
• 5:00 p.m. Job Opportunities: Portia Wu, Senior Policy Advisor for Mobility and Opportunity Policy
• 6:00 p.m. Urban Issues: Racquel Russell,  Special Assistant to the President for Mobility and Opportunity

Related:
Find out how you can talk to Obama Administration officials about the President’s plan
Watch the enhanced version of the 2012 State of the Union Address
Read the full transcript of President Obama's 2012 State of the Union Address
Read President Obama’s Blueprint for an America that is built to last
Take a deep dive into the data behind the President’s plan
Video: Go behind the scenes as the President prepared his speech
Photo Gallery: Scenes from the State of the Union
Interactive Feature: Who Joined the First Lady for the Speech?

President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 25, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

Take a look:

Watch the President's full remarks here.

One quote stuck with me: “the nature of our democracy and the nature of our politics is to marry principle to a political process that means you don't get 100% of what you want.”

This is a President who believes searching for common ground is the right way to approach solving our problems. And in fact, in the divided government our country has chosen, it’s the only way we can.

Unfortunately, that view isn’t shared by everyone in Washington, DC.  And you can see that right now as the President is trying to bring people together to tackle our debt and get our fiscal house in order.

This is a difficult process, and it means Republicans and Democrats need to step outside their political comfort zone and find some common ground — the President is willing to make tough cuts with real impacts, not easy decisions.

But most Congressional Republicans have dug in and demanded that the sacrifice fall only on the middle class, seniors and struggling Americans.

The President tried to make it easy for them by suggesting closing some of the most egregious loopholes for the very wealthiest Americans and special interests — so that hedge fund managers don’t pay lower taxes than firefighters and teachers, corporate jet owners don’t pay lower taxes than commercial airlines, and oil companies don’t get tax cuts at a time they are making record profits.  

Congressional Republicans have not yet given an inch even though the American people, regardless of which political party they belong to, overwhelmingly approve of this common sense, balanced approach.

Our nation is climbing out of the worst recession since the Great Depression, and one of the most important things we can do to help the economy is to get our fiscal house in order and reduce our Nation’s deficit.  We can’t let this moment pass us by.

Compromise isn’t a dirty word — in fact, it’s the only way our democracy can get big things done.

Last week, I kicked off the new Advise the Advisor series on WhiteHouse.gov and asked for your ideas, comments and questions about how American innovation is affecting your communities and what we can do to remove obstacles to innovation.

Since then, thousands of you submitted comments and ideas over the course of the week. A team of people here at the White House reviewed every single submission.

We’ll post a more comprehensive analysis of your feedback in the coming days, but in the meantime, I want to highlight and respond to a couple of the common themes that we found in reading your feedback. 

Education is the Key to Innovation

Many of you told me that one of the biggest obstacles to innovation is lack of high-quality education.

Tony from Wisconsin said:

Education is the key to innovation and manufacturing superiority.  We must prepare all age groups…for the challenges this year and this decade.

Tony, the President couldn’t agree with you more.  In fact, President Obama spoke about this earlier this week at Parkville Middle School outside of Baltimore. In his FY2012 Budget proposal, the President has called for critical investments in our children’s future – like training 100,000 new math and science teachers over the next ten years, expanding the Race to the Top education reform initiative, and making college more affordable for America’s students and families by helping 9 million students through the Pell grant program and permanently extending the American Opportunity Tax Credit that provides up to $10,000 of tuition tax credits over four years.

We Need High-Speed Internet

Many of you, particularly those living in rural areas, told me that the lack of affordable access to high-speed Internet was slowing the pace of innovation in your community.

James from Maryland said:

The single greatest thing we can do is connect rural America to the rest of the world via high speed Internet to allow the flow of information, and new business structures to grow 60 and 70 years ago it was roads and bridges that were the vital infrastructure, today it is that connection to information, a simple dial up makes it impossible or at least extremely difficult to find out basic information.

James is right, access to high-speed Internet is critical in the 21st century.  Last week, President Obama launched the National Wireless Initiative – a plan to expand wireless coverage to 98% of Americans so that small businesses can sell their products anywhere in the world and individuals can access the information and ideas they need to compete in the 21st century economy. As part of this initiative, the Administration will invest in research and development of emerging wireless technologies and applications so our nation stays at the cutting edge of internet technology. And we will establish a national wireless network for our public safety agencies.

All told, by more effectively utilizing spectrum, the President’s wireless initiative will make these investments while also reduce the budget deficit by nearly $10 billion. Check out the White House White Board video with Austan Goolsbee, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors to learn more about it.

Government Can Be an Obstacle to Innovation

Another common theme was that government itself can be an obstacle to innovation.  Many respondents felt that too much government regulation stifled businesses and innovators and that the patent process and intellectual property laws are broken.

Gene from California said:

The largest obstacle to continued innovation is not a secret; it is government intrusion into every aspect of American business. Startup companies are limited to those who have lots of capital to pay for legal advice. The average person cannot start a business on his own today. There are just too many regulations to get a loan. Too many hoops to get a license to operate that business and too much paper work to continue to employ workers.

In his State of the Union Address, the President called for a government-wide review of regulations to find and fix those regulations that place unnecessary burdens on businesses.  Indeed, in his Budget, the President put forward a set of common sense reforms to our patent system that will make it easier for innovators to move ideas to market and foster growth.

But there are some commonsense measures that are necessary to protect the health, wellbeing and safety of the American people. So while we work to eliminate those regulations that unnecessarily stand in the way of America’s entrepreneurs and job creators, we have to enforce safeguards like the Clean Air Act that protects the air we breathe, quality standards that ensure that our food is safe to eat, and guidelines that guarantee our water is safe to drink.

Enthusiasm for Clean Energy Innovation

Many of you told me that clean energy innovation and energy efficiency was already shaping your communities.

Julie from Iowa said:

I live in Iowa.  Recently I had to drive from Sioux City to Cedar Rapids.  It's been about 5 years since I've made the trip.  While cruising down the interstate I was amazed at how the landscape had changed.  Windmills - hundreds of windmills.  It was almost majestic.  I also noted all the semi's cruising down the highway with windmill parts.

President Obama is committed to helping to jumpstart a new clean energy economy here in the United State because the nation that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century. The President’s FY2012 Budget proposal calls for America to produce 80% of our electricity from clean energy sources by 2035 and increases investments in renewable energy research and development.  Meeting that target will position the United States as a global leader in developing and manufacturing cutting-edge clean energy technologies. It will ensure continued growth in the renewable energy sector, building on the progress made in recent years. And it will spur innovation and investment in our nation’s energy infrastructure, catalyzing economic growth and creating American jobs.

You can learn more about the investments we’re making in clean energy and energy efficiency here.

Obstacles to Innovation

I also heard a lot about some of the obstacles to innovation that many people see in their own communities, and that’s great feedback as we think about our policies to promote innovation going forward.

Ron from Illinois said:

Innovation does not affect my community because it doesn't exist here.  The reason it does not exist is strictly because of the obstacles.  While decisions made in Washington may sound good or look good on paper, it has no bearing on my community.

Ron – that’s fair concern.  I know that especially during these tough economic times, it can be difficult to see progress.

The President’s plan to win the future by out-innovating, out-educating and out-building the rest of the world will bring innovation to parts of the country that can sometimes be left behind – whether that’s bringing high speed wireless to 98% of the country and bringing high speed rail 80% of Americans, or helping industries of the future like clean energy get a foothold in rural America.

We’re working to lay the groundwork for economic growth and innovation by rebuilding America’s infrastructure to ensure that America is the best place to do business in the world, reforming our education system to ensure that today’s students are well equipped for the jobs of tomorrow, and streamlining regulations to remove burdens on job creation. But government can’t do it alone.  We need businesses to step up and invest in America as well. In his speech at the Chamber of Commerce last week, the President spoke to business leaders about our shared responsibility to rebuild the American economy, calling on the business community to make investments in America that will pay dividends for both the American economy and their bottom lines.

I've passed along a portion of the ideas we received to Gene Sperling and his colleagues at the National Economic Council for further review and in the days and weeks ahead I hope to review even more of your feedback and incorporate the best ideas into my own advice to President Obama.  We're also planning for the next round of Advise the Advisor -- stay tuned for more on that.